Rex Ryan: One Thing That Should Not Affect His Job Status

Rex Ryan's job security is a hot topic of debate in New York for obvious reasons. There are many factors that could play a role in the decision whether or not the Jets retain their head coach. I have heard one mentioned in a few places that should not, Mark Sanchez getting hurt in the third preseason game. For whatever reason, some people point to this as a reason the Jets' season sunk. One luminary covering the team even called for Ryan's firing that night over the decision to play Sanchez. Let's not even go into the debate of whether Sanchez should have been playing or would have won the starting job. Let's look at the result.

The Jets lost Sanchez for the year. Would he have been more effective than Geno? Judging from his latest body of work, the answer is no.

So, yeah, the Jets didn't downgrade by going to Smith. Unfortunately Geno has essentially replaced Sanchez. I know there are probably some folks out there who think somehow Sanchez would have magically turned into a good quarterback under Marty Mornhinweg, but let's be serious here. Mornhinweg has a good offensive track record and couldn't muster a good offense with his prized pupil in part because the receiving corps was so bad. This was largely the same receiving corps that allegedly contributed to Sanchez's 2012 meltdown. Mornhinweg might be a good coach, but he wasn't going to turn a consistently below average four year starter into a quality player with a bottom barrel arsenal of weapons.

There are reasons to argue for Rex Ryan's dismissal. Mark Sanchez's injury is not one of them. In fact one of the strongest arguments to retain him might be that he was destined to receive bottom tier quarterback play no matter what in 2013.